Across The Galaxy
by Vastulja Sata Menton
Summary: An adventure where friendship and love are more important than anything. Can everyone make it out alive? 1x2, 3x4, 5x? 6x?
1. All The Details

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter One: All the Details_

It had been six years since he end of the war. Six long, hard, and lonely years. But Duo had made it. He had done well for himself as well. He had a steady job and a condominium he actually kept clean. He was proud of himself; he had done well. The years had been lonely, thought he stayed in touch with his former teammate Quatre via email and the occasional phone call.

Despite his success, the first few years after the war had been hard for him. More than once he had tried to kill himself. He had made it through though, and things were better now. He missed his comrades, but he had moved on with his life. It was good. One day, however, his world was turned upside down.

It was a normal Saturday, and Duo had just finished feeding his fish. The fish quickly swam to the surface of the water to feed before swimming happily to the bottom. Duo smiled and went to his balcony to open his blinds; he opened the sliding glass door to let the cool summer air flow into the living room. Just then, his phone rang. Casually, he answered.

"Talk to me."

"Mr. Maxwell. This is Jeff from the service desk. It seems that a package that you must sign for has arrived."

Duo couldn't remember ordering anything. Someone could have sent him something though. "Send it up." He hung up and waited fro a knock on his door. Eventually, the knock came. Slowly he made his way to the door and opened it. What he found caused his heart to almost stop. It was defiantly not a deliveryman. In fact, it was none other than Heero Yuy himself.

"H-Heero?" duo stuttered, not believing his eyes. The tall man stood before him, casually dressed in blue jeans and a blue and yellow horizontally stripped polo (AN: trying to give him a preppy look here). He hadn't lost any muscle tone and looked just as good as he had six years ago, if not better. Duo was in complete and utter shock, he wasn't sure what to say or do. They looked at each other for a moment before Duo remembered his manors. "Come in! Come in! Sorry…" Duo shot the door behind Heero before leading the taller man into the tidy condo. Heero looked around as Duo led him to the living room but kept silent as his usual self.

Heero sat in the seat that was offered to him, and watched as Duo looked for something. "Would you like anything to drink?" Heero shock his head no and waited for the disoriented Death Scythe pilot to settle down and sit. Once Duo finally did, silence filled the space between them. That it, until Duo broke said silence as he usually did.

"Well, this is defiantly a surprise," Silence. "So…what brings you all of the way our here to L6?"

"Hmm. Well, it is a developing colony, and I heard that you had come here. So, I decided to visit."

"Oh, wow. Cool. Um, well isn't this just a surprise." Duo was stalling, almost babbling. He didn't know what to say. It _had_ been six years. So, Duo said what came to his mind. "You look good." He almost smacked his forehead for that one.

Heero's eyebrows perked up, and he smiled. Duo almost had a heart attack right then and there. Heero had never smiled before. He even spoke. "As do you." Duo looked at his tight black attire and blushed. He _had _been training a lot and staying in shape, and it was defiantly showing. Heero was first to break the awkward silence. "So, what have you been doing for the past few years?"

Duo had to think a moment before he replied. "Well, Mostly working my ass off. That's how I got this place." The 02 pilot looked around his condo and smiled. He was proud of the work that he had done. He then looked to his friend and asked, "How about you?"

"Oh, traveling. Learning how to be human, I guess you could say." Heero chuckled before continuing, "I visited Quatre and Trowa just last month. Mostly I have been here and there though."

"Cool! So…do you work?" Duo was even more curious now. Heero – human? He had to hear more.

"Part time for the preventors. Only when they need me really. You?"

"Hmm. I've been working with the local law enforcement most recently. Before that I was pretty much programming and hacking for companies. I like this better though. More of an adrenalin rush, like old times." Duo smiled. He was happy, for the most part.

"So, you live alone I take it?" It was a strange question for Heero to ask, but Duo answered it anyway.

"Yeah. I haven't gotten into any serious relationships. It's hard, ya know. No one else really understands what it was like during the war, accept for you and the other guys. It's hard to…to…" Duo was searching for the word he wanted, but could not find it.

"Connect?" Heero sadly understood.

"Yeah." Duo sighed. He shrugged and smiled weakly. "But, as they say; 'Life's a bitch!'"

"Hmph," Heero agreed with a chuckle.

"So, how are Quatre and Trowa? You said that you talked to them recently." Duo sat back, getting more relaxed with being around Heero again.

"Married. But we all saw that one coming." Heero pointed out as Duo raised an eyebrow. "All in all good though."

"So, Heero. What _really_ brings you here?" Duo clearly had an inkling feeling that there was more to Heero's traveling.

Heero took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay. I didn't just casually go and visit Quatre and Trowa. For the last two months I've been on a 'mission', to say the least. I can't say much, but I'm here to propose a proposition for you." He finally had Duo's complete attention and he nodded for Heero to continue. "For years we've had the ability to travel into deep space. Due to the war, however, this ability has been overshadowed, until now. Now that there is peace between the colonies and earth, representatives have banded together and made a decision. It's an exploration mission, if you will."

"Where to? Like, another galaxy?" Duo questioned.

"Not quite. To the other side of _our _galaxy," The wing pilot corrected. He was far from finished though, so he continued. "They came to me and asked if I would do it. Naturally, I agreed to the idea. They're short a few people for the mission though."

"How many?"

"Oh…four to five. That's why I've come to you guys. In hope that you will come. But this isn't like a vacation. We can't leave and come back in a month. We'll be gone for years. The trip will take five years alone and that's at twenty thousand times the speed of light. That's equivalent to five years on earth. So, you'll have to give up everything. That's only if you want to go though."

There was silence in the room. Duo was possessing all of the information that the other man had just shared with him. "Wow," Was the only thing that came out of him. He knew what was coming next. Heero was going to ask him what he thought first and then if he wanted to go.

"So, what do you think?" Bingo! But the braided man wasn't sure _what_ to think at all. IT was all so much information. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to think.

"I don't know. That's a lot of stuff there. I'll have to think on it more. How much time is there before the launch?"

"Well, you've got a week to decide," Heero replied sheepishly.

" A WEEK!" Duo exclaimed.

"Yeah, it took me longer to persuade Trowa and Quatre then I thought it would. A whole three weeks actually. So, yeah. Sorry." The apology was genuine enough, so Duo nodded is head in forgiveness.

"Well, I think I can decide in a week. Who else have you contacted?"

"I'm having a difficult time getting a hold of Wufei. I've gone to Zechs," Duo flinched at the name, but Heero did not notice the action, "but his decision is pending. He should be getting back to me soon. He's had a full week himself. So, don't feel bad. You aren't the only one."

"Hmm. I'll think on it. In the mean time, where are you staying?" Duo being his normal self, jumped to another subject completely unrelated.

"In a hotel down the road. Some "Learmont'." Heero shrugged.

"No no! We can't have that. You can stay here for the time. It's the leas that I can do. And don't even _think _about protesting. You're staying and that is final." Duo smiled and Heero smirked back. The taller man silently agreed with a single nod.

Heero went back to the hotel to get his stuff as Duo went about gathering blankets and a few pillows. He didn't really need to do any cleaning, so while he waited for his friend to return, he put water on the stove to brew some tea.

_End Chapter One._

**AN: FINALLY! It took forever to type this up. It's the longest chapter (I do believe). And the next one is one of the shortest. I have up to chapter five done, so I'll get the rest up ASAP. I'm working on chapter six…but well it's not going so well. First it was okay, but then it took a totally different direction. I didn't like it. So I started over. But, now I have writers block. xx**


	2. More Recruits

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Two: More Recruits_

Heero had no idea how he was going to get Duo to come. It had taken him forever to get Trowa and Quatre to agree to going. First Quatre didn't, but Trowa did. Then Quatre did but Trowa didn't. Then, neither of them did, until finally they both agreed to going. He wondered if it had been more trouble then it was worth.

No, this is important, Heero thought to himself. I need those two. It was worth it, weather I understand why or not. And hooking Duo is just as vital as Quatre and Trowa. All of them are.

Just as he had finished putting his things back into his suit case, his cell phone rang. Only a few people knew his number, so he had a good idea as to whom it could be.

"Yuy," He answered as he locked his case.

"I'm in," a familiar voice answered, "on one condition."

"I'm listening."

"Wufei comes. I don't want to deal with the loves birds alone for five years without any break." Zechs admitted.

"That might be a problem. I have yet to contact him and haven't the slightest clue as to where he is." Heero confessed, slipping a pair of sun glasses on before leaving his hotel room.

"Don't worry about it. I do. And he's already said that he will go so there's one less thing you have to worry about." Zechs explained over the phone.

"Really? That's good to hear. How'd you find him?" Heero stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor.

"Followed a trail of tiny bread crumbs. Trust me, it wasn't easy. You gave me a week to decide. I decided the first day, and then spent five hunting him down. He got two days to decide. He said yes ten minutes before I called actually."

"Oh, so he's with you. Good. I just confronted Duo and gave him a week to decide. So be ready for my call at any time."

"Got it. Talk to you soon."

"Right." Heero hung up and stepped out of the elevator as the doors slid open. His destination: the check out desk.

Duo had made sure that Jeff knew to let Heero in when he came back. He was still trying to figure out the whole delivery thing, but gave up after five minutes. He didn't have the attention span. It was an hour after he left that Heero arrived back at his front door. The knock was light, uncharacteristic for Heero, but then again the wing pilot had changed a lot. Duo could tell just by looking at him.

Heero had put on a pair of sunglasses, making him look even hotter. In fact, if it weren't for the messy chocolate brown hair, you couldn't have guessed that it was Heero at all. Duo let Heero in and showed him where to put his things. It was defiantly going to be an interesting week.

_End Chapter Two_

**AN: Shorter, indeed. But, that's okay. Next chapter is longer. I promise (like I said, I already have it written.) Have fun!**


	3. Like Old Times

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Three: Like Old Times_

It had taken the entire week, but Heero had finally convinced Duo to go on the mission. Duo was proud of his accomplishments and social status on L6. This made it very difficult for him to decide. He didn't want to give all of that up, and Heero didn't blame him for feeling that way either. He understand. He had given everything up to take this mission. He explained this to Duo too, but he could not explain completely why he had given it all up. This mission was important to him, though he himself was not totally sure why. After much deliberation, Duo agreed to go with the others across the galaxy (with no knowledge that Zechs and Wufei were going).

The day that Duo had decided, they both began to pack for their over ten-year trip(1). As Heero packed his things in the living room (and Duo packed his things in his room), he called Zechs.

"Hey, start packing. It's a go. We leave tonight for the satellite. I'm going to call Quatre and Trowa and let them know. If we all leave tonight, we should at least get there some time tomorrow evening. I have to call the head director of the project to inform him too. I'll be seeing you and Wufei soon." Heero informed briefly.

"Got it. See you." The conversation ended, and Heero quickly contacted Quatre and Trowa to inform them. He called the head director of the project last (only because he didn't like the guy) and told him that all five other positions had been filled and that they were ready for the next set of orders.

"I just need you all here by tomorrow night. From there we'll progress. Punctuality, Heero. Don't forget!"

Heero rolled his eyes. Like he was ever late. The only thing that would cause him to be late would be Duo. But he knew his comrade from the war well enough that the decision to leave early had already been made. Once the packing was done, Duo sadly parted with his fish and handed the keys over to Jeff at the service desk, they were off. Duo sniffled as they got into the cab and drove away from the condominium complex. Heero shrugged; he was just happy that they were leaving before three. They were defiantly going to be on time.

Yet, to Heero's dismay, it wasn't Duo that delayed them. It was traffic, the crowd at the shuttle port, shuttle port traffic, delay for launch, and delay for landing. By the time that they finally got to the satellite, Heero was seriously about to kill someone (and Duo was doing his best to not be he one killed by Heero). The taller man stormed into the port, past the maintenance people, and into the inner workings of the satellite. All the while, Duo trailed behind closely. He was _not_ going to get lost this time like he had so many other times during the war (his stealth was good, but his sense of direction sucked).

After what seemed like forever, they 'wondered' through halls and past doors until they got to their destination (or so Duo assumed). The door swooshed open and the two men entered. Duo was glad to see Quatre and Trowa already there, but there were two other people there that he had not expected and whom Heero had neglected to mention were coming.

What the hell are those two doing here, Duo wondered angrily. Heero said he had talked to Zechs, but never said that he had decided to come.

"Ah! Heero, you have arrived. But, you are late." The head director of the project stepped up. He was a stout little man with a mustache and a balding head. It could be seen why Heero couldn't stand him.

Heero shot a deathly glare at the director before muttering, "Don't-even-get-me-started."

"Well, now that we are finally all here. Please have a seat." The director motioned to the chairs. They all sat and waited for him to begin. The meeting was short, concise, and strait to the point.

They would undergo four days of testing to see if any of them could actually go on the mission. Two days they were to rest, and on the seventh day they would leave. Easy enough. But for Duo, it wasn't easy. He was having a problem dealing with the fact that Zechs and Wufei were going on the mission as well. He had a hard time being with them in the same room for five minutes let alone five years. He didn't say anything yet though. He just put a smile on his face as usual. The director of the project was finally finished, which gave Duo the change to greet Quatre and Trowa.

The braided man ran up to the shorter calmer man and embraced him in a hug. Quarter smiled and hugged him back.

"I am so glad you decided to come Duo. I've missed you. Talking on the phone and emailing each other just isn't the same." Quatre commented as they walked down the hallways to their temporary rooms.

"I know what you mean. But think, it'll be almost like old times!" Duo exclaimed with a bounce in his step. "I heard about the good news though. Congrats to both of you."

Quatre blushed and looked to Trowa, whom smiled to him. Duo parted the couple as he got to his designated room. He took a deep breath and sighed as he shut the door. IT was going to be a very long week, and an even longer mission.

_End Chapter Three_

(1). **Five years there, five years back, and all the time in between (which I have yet to decide on. Actually…I wonder if I'll have them stay? I don't know. I'm still stuck on the sixth chapter. x.x)**

**AN: See! Longer. But the next chapter is going to be the shortest of them all. I'm sorry. Don't ask what I was thinking when I broke this thing up. Whatever though. Tell me what you think so far though.**


	4. Count Down to Lift off

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Four: Countdown to Liftoff_

They had all passed the many tests, letting them all go on the mission. They had also had their two days to rest and time to pack. They were ready to launch. The shuttle had already been boarded, and it wasn't until they got on that they found out that they would have to room with someone else. Quatre and Trowa were obviously together, and Duo refused to room with Zechs or Wufei. So, just like old times, Duo roomed with Heero while Zechs roomed with Wufei. It worked out quite well actually.

Duo wanted to stay in his room, unpack, and vent his feelings; but he couldn't. They all needed to go to the main deck and get ready for the launch. Duo lagged behind Heero though as they made their way there. The others were gathered there already and strapped into their seats. Heero went to the front next to Zechs, which meant that Duo got the joy of being next to Wufei with Quatre and Trowa in from of them. Heero put on a headset talk with the communication room, and began the process before countdown.

**(AN: Aaaaand this is where it originally ended. But I saw how short it was and thought…well I'm just not going to do that to my readers. So…I'm going on a little more to fill up space before chapter five.)**

Duo looked around the deck as Heero began the slow process before countdown. It was fairly advanced, more so than the shuttles and ships during the war. He had to remind himself that it had been six years since the war and things had changed a lot. L6 it's self was far more advanced then the other colonies, and they had already started building an even more advanced L7. It still amazed him how advanced things had become.

The room was sleek and shinning. There were gadgets all around, and monitors. In the back behind the control seats where six stations with screens and clipboards. Duo was unsure as to what they were for, but he had a feeling that he would eventually find out. Except for the six stations, the rest of the deck reminded him of the interior of a Gundam. It made Duo wonder if it was done on purpose or just by pure coincidence. It was hard to tell. It sure did look like Heero had had a touch in the design though. Just the thought of the war and the interior of a Gundam made him miss Death Scythe. But he knew that that was in the past, and that he had to move on. The war was over, and nothing was the same. Sometimes he wished that they were though.

The process before the countdown was finished, and the launch was beginning. Duo held in his excitement. It was going to be just like taking off in a Gundam. The adrenalin, and the force. It forced fire though his veins. He waited impatiently as the countdown began.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…

_End Chapter Four_

**AN: I am so nice. I even made it longer. Be happy. I could have ended it. Not the longest, but longer then it was going to be. Enjoy!**


	5. The Journey Begins

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Five: The Journey Begins_

They had been on their expedition for five days now and it already felt like five years. Duo was already on everyone's last nerve, and Wufei was about to kill him.

"Weeee!" Duo shouted as he spun around in one of the chairs in the dinning room just outside of the deck room. He stumbled out of the chair and zigzagged to the control area where everyone else was. "Whoa, I feel all woozally." Duo remarked as Wufei rolled his eyes. Suddenly, however, Duo stopped with an odd look on his face. "Uh oh." He quickly ran to the bathroom and proceeded to throw up his lunch.

"I don't know how much more of him I can take." Wufei admitted, writing down the daily statistics.

"Well, you have to deal for four years and three hundred and sixty days." Quatre commented as he watched Trowa do calculations.

"Four years and three hundred and sixty days too long," Wufei mumbled.

"It's all good! I'm **o**kay!" Duo exclaimed as he bounded into the room. He hoped into Wufei's lap and asked, "Did ya miss me?"

"Hardly." The Chinese man pushed the other man off his lap before going back to his work. Duo stuck out his tongue and went to see what Heero was going. He wasn't surprised to see him navigating, which he had been doing for five days straight now. Zechs would be reliving him soon and taking over for the next five days. The first, central, and last ten days of the mission were key for navigation. They each had a time that they would navigate.

"So, what do you plan on doing once Zechs relieves you, Hee-Chan?" Duo inquired. Heero visibly winced at the name and answered.

"Sleeping. Then it just depends on how much work Wufei and Trowa got done, or have gotten done.

"Oooh. So, like, what are we supposed to do for _five_ years?"

"The usual. Check the daily statistics, make sure that the ship is working in optimal condition, making sure we're on course, and report back to headquarters. That kind of stuff."

"Hmm…Sounds 'fun'."

"This mission isn't about 'fun', Duo. It's about exploration and there are things that we have to get done and have to send back to earth." Just then, Zechs showed up to take over for Heero. The brown haired man gave up the position and began to make his way to the room he shared with Duo. The shorter man decided to follow him.

"Okay. So, what am I supposed to do then? Trowa is doing calculations, Wufei is checking the daily statistics, and Quatre is monitoring everyone's health and making sure that this speed isn't affecting us. Not to mention Zechs is keeping an eye on our speed and the generator. And you're overseeing it all, but what about me?" Duo became serious and waited for an answer as they entered the small room.

Heero seemed to be thinking. "Well. Cleaning."

Duo gapped at him. "You're kidding me, right!"

"Yes. In your words: 'Duh!'"

"Good. Because I'm not cleaning up after anyone else but myself."

"As it should be. What you will be doing for the next few years is going over the reports that everyone writes up and sending them out."

"Oh, well I guess that's not too bad."

"Indeed. Now, if you don't mind. I need to sleep."

"Sleep away buddy!" Duo quickly left the room and went to the station that he would be working at for the next five years. Upon seeing it, he knew that it was going to be a long five years.

_End Chapter Five_

**AN: Hate me now. Because I don't think that there will be another chapter update until…Christmas break (which is from the 19th to the 30th for me). Heh…sorry. Will update other stories though!**


	6. Warring Thoughts

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_(blabla…) _Internal thoughts #1

(blabla…) Internal thoughts #2

_blabla... _General thoughts

_Chapter Six: Warring Thoughts_

"Wufei, your report notes a distinct change in the surrounding space. You did notice that, right?" Duo inquired. It had been a full year since they had left earth and things were going smoothly, until now.

"We went by a nebula at twenty thousand times the speed of light, Duo. There are bound to be changes. It's fine though. It'll be back to normal in a few hours." Wufei informed from his pace as the statistical rating station.

"Was there any damage to the ship?" There was concern in Duo's voice. No one's report had mentioned the nebula, and nebula meant possible asteroids or meteorites.

"Ask Yuy." Duo rolled his eyes. It was always 'ask someone else'. What more could he do then oblige though. He turned to Heero and inquired.

"Not that Zechs or I have found. We're still doing an outer scan and internal check. It looks good for now. I'll keep you posted. And no, I will not forget to mention this in my report." Duo nodded and went back to his screen to finish typing up his own report. He looked over Quatre's report quickly. All looked well, so he finished up what he could as he waited for Heero to finish. Heero's report was always the longest. He had more things that he needed to check and report on. It also took him longer for that reason. So Duo kicked back and waited.

As he waited, he thought of the many things on his mind. So far, the trip had been going good for him. There was one thing, however, that had become difficult for him. It happened to involve his roommate, Heero. An entire year of sharing a room wasn't the problem. The problem was that Duo had a deep crush on Heero. Correction, he was in love with him. But he was afraid that Heero didn't share the same feelings. Even worse, he wasn't sure what Heero's sexual preference was. Duo had always like his taller friend, but had never had the guts to do or say anything. Now he was with him on a regular basis and it was driving him insane.

He wasn't quite sure what to do. He could talk to one of the other guys. But, he was twenty-two years old. He was _not_ going to go to anyone for advice. And he defiantly didn't have the guts to face Heero and confess his feelings. He was stuck between a rock and a hard spot. _You can't hide your feelings forever you know. You should tell him before it's too late. _Duo mentally kicked himself and pushed away the bothersome thoughts. Yeah, well easier said then done. Duo sighed and swiveled around in his chair. Wufei had left, leaving Heero the only other one in the control room with him.

_(Here is your chance! You're alone. Tell him! )_

(Yeah, and we're alone in our room. But you don't' see me jumping all over him!)

_(Pussy. Fine, don't tell him. But don't throw a pity party when someone else snags him.)_

(Who's gunna? Wufei is as strait as it comes, and so is Zechs.)

_(So sure, are we? You've seen the way that Zechs looks at Heero. The way you do. )_

(Shut up!)

_(You know it's true. Better act fast before someone else does.)_

Duo resisted the urge to hit himself. He hated his thoughts. Couldn't they just let him be? Argue in someone else's brain? The braided man sighed and twirled back around to his station. He needed to get his roommate out of his mind. But even paper work couldn't do that, and there were very few things that cold. All of which he was unable to do. Like drinking or going dancing. He was stuck, and he was on the verge of screaming at the top of his lungs in frustration.

"Duo." Heero's voice brought him back out of his daze. He looked up and found himself face to face with his crush. He blinked for a moment before his thoughts came back to him.

"Yes?"

"Here." Heero handed him the report, and Duo took it out of instinct.

"Thanks!" Duo smiled and placed it on top of the others.

"Are…you okay? I mean, you seem kind of out of it." The taller man inquired.

"I'm good." Duo beamed. "Just zonin'."

"N'kay. If you say so." Heero left then, leaving Duo to himself and his thoughts. The braided man sighed and slumped back into his chair.

_That was close._

_End Chapter Six_

**AN: I lied! I didn't expect to get this chapter done as soon as I did. But I did! This chapter has taken so many different turns. I had to scratch a lot out. In fact, I had a totally different version, which lead to me writing up to chapter nine. But, I got rid of that because it just wasn't going in the direction that I had planned. But…now…I really have no idea what is going to happen next. They have like four more years left. Something has to happen. I'll figure something out. Wish me luck. Give me any ideas and I just might use them (which will get the next chapter up faster!)**


	7. Report

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Seven: Report_

Captains Log.

730 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes after launch.

181 days, 22 hours, and 17 minutes to center and midpoint (1).

1094 days, 16 hours, and 17 minutes to final destination

All seems to be going according to plan. Trowa's calculations have been on track and we are positioned were it was planned. Statistically, mechanically, and physically everything is normal. There is tension on the ship however. It was foreseen that by the two-year mark there would be tension. The level that it is at, however, is higher then expected.

There is no way to vent frustrating and very few places to 'get away'. The tension seems to have centralized around Duo, Wufei, and Zechs. Duo was not happy with the latter two being on this mission to begin with, or are they happy that he is on it either. Trowa, Quatre, and I have all confronted them on their actions, but it seems to be of little help. Just sixteen hours and twenty-two minutes ago a fight between Duo and Zechs broke out.

(-)

"Zechs, I didn't get your report." Duo informed as the platinum blond haired man did an external scan of the ship.

"That is because I did not type one up." Zechs hit a button and the scanner went back to recheck an area.

"And why not?"

"We are currently going through an area of space that has _nothing_. Nothing, therefore, has changed where my department is concerned."

"That doesn't matter. I still need a report from you. I have to send it out. And I can't send mine out without yours." Duo exclaimed from behind the older man. Zechs spun around and leaned into Duo's face.

"Well too damn bad."

"Write the fucking report, Zechs!"

"Tell me what to do one more time, Duo, and you'll wish you never agreed to come on this mission." Zechs growled.

Duo glared at the other man and hissed, "Write-the-report."

Fists flew, striking flesh and bone. Blood was drawn and the two men shouted at each other in anger. Zechs had Duo pinned in the floor, and he proceeded to punch the living day light out of him. The younger man was not going to put up with that though. Before he could do anything, however, the other man was pulled off of him. He was pulled up by Heero suddenly, causing his head to spin.

"What the hell is going on here!" Heero exclaimed.

"Nothing." Zechs replied.

"Bull shit."

Duo glared at Zechs before turning to Heero. "Just drop it, Heero." He walked out then, leaving the others behind.

(-)

The tension is also high between Wufei and Duo, but there has been no fight as of yet. Other then the clash among those there, everything else seems to be fine. The arguments need to be settled though.

_End Chapter Seven_

(1) For all of you who don't feel like doing the math, it is equal to 2.5 years.

**AN: Wow…defiantly have no idea where this chapter came from. Just a little additive before the next chapter is all. Don't wanna skip to the best parts all at once!**


	8. Suspended

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Eight: Suspended_

They were halfway through the journey, and approaching the center of the universe. There hadn't been any fights since the last one between Zechs and Duo, but that was the least of their problems. Life was about to get a little more interesting.

"Heero, we have a problem," Duo exclaimed from the navigation chair. Heero spun around in his chair and moved to Duo's side.

"What's up?" Heero leaned in to look at the monitor.

"We're coming up on the center quicker then expected. And it isn't looking too good." They had slowed down for the central ten days of navigation. It was Duo's second day of five, and he was positive that he was not seeing things. "It looks like some sort of…cloud."

"Wufei, I want a full evaluation ASAP. Get me everything that you can. Trowa, look over your calculations. I want to know why the hell we're this close this soon. Duo, stay on course but keep and eye on that cloud." Heero moved away and went back to his station. He quickly began to type.

Duo concentrated on the space before him and navigating. It wasn't easy though with all the commotion going on around him. Wufei was scanning the cloud in from of them and Trowa was looking over his calculations and the statistical. Zechs was checking the generators and engines to make sure that there were no malfunctions. Quatre was unable to do any thing, however, until Wufei gathered information and a sample from the cloud. Anyone else would find it to be mass chaos.

"Heero." Trowa moved over to the brown haired man's station. "My calculations are perfect. But the statistics are showing something different. I might be wrong, but I think we're being pulled into the cloud. You need to see if anything is wrong with the generators. But if there isn't, then my hypotheses may be true."

"Okay. Keep reviewing." Trowa nodded before moving back to his station. "Zechs, what's the report?"

"Well, there isn't anything wrong down here. Everything is functioning perfectly." Zechs replied through the intercom.

"Heero. The cloud seems to be made of a dense material, and has it's own gravitational pull that is very strong. I need to get a sample though." Wufei informed. He motioned for Quatre to come over and help him as Heero turned to Duo.

"All stop, Duo."

"You got it. But, we aren't going to stop with the pull of that cloud. It'll just slow us down a little but if I stop."

"We just need time for Quatre and Wufei to get a sample." Heero turned to the intercom. "We're shutting down the engines Zechs.

"Alright." There was a moment of silence as everyone concentrated. Duo watched their course as they grew closer to the cloud. He was starting to get worried, but didn't show it. Something just wasn't right. Soon after, Quatre ran back to the medial unit with the sample in a jar. The only thing that they could do now was wait. They drifted slowly towards the cloud, until they were finally engulfed.

"Alright. Start the engines Duo and proceed slowly," Heero instructed. Just then, all power went out.

"Negative, Heero. No can do with no power."

"Zechs, what happened down there?" Heero shouted.

"I don't know!" Zechs ran up to the front of the ship. "It all just stopped!"

"Wufei?"

"Interference from the cloud. Electric charges. Nothing we can do."

Heero sighed. Quatre came in, and they all waited for him to tell them what the cloud was made up of. "I cannot give a report due to the lack of power and inability to test and check the substance." He quickly said, not looking up. All eyes were on Heero now.

"Okay. So, we're stuck, suspended in space, in a cloud of some unknown substance. In the middle of the universe, with no way to contact anyone on earth." Silence. "Alright. We'll take turns watching navigation and see what we can do." They all nodded. If they weren't pulled through the cloud, then they would have to find some way to start the engines and generators. "Quatre, take over for Duo for now. Wufei and Zechs go and see what you can do with the generators." The three mend did as they were told. Trowa kept Quatre company as Duo went to rest. Heero sighed. This was _not_ how things were supposed to go.

_End Chapter Eight_

**AN: Look at that! Haha! Chapter eight! And I'm already working on chapter nine right now! I'm gunna for warn you now that the next chapter is going to be good…and the whole 1x2 comes in then. Yay! But I need to put more into it…:wink: When will that be done? I don't know, when I get it done. Havin family and… 'school' issues right now. Long story, and it's not like any of you care so…wish me luck on this next chapter.**

**Oh! If you want to know what I had written for chapter six through eight at first, just say. If enough ppl wanna know I'll post it up and let you all know. It'll just be those three chapters though…and not an actual story. Just…three very messed up chapters. Haha!**


	9. Confessions

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Nine: Confessions_

Duo fell onto his bed with a sigh. This had been going smoothly (other then the fight) and they were supposed to stay that way. Now everything was messed up. They were stuck in the middle of space and they couldn't do a thing about it. He was thinking about all of it too much though. He couldn't even get to sleep his mind was racing so much. The door of the room opened, but he paid no mind to it. He knew that it was Heero, even despite the darkness. Heero sat on the edge of his bed and sighed. Silence filled the room.

"So, what now?" Duo broke said silence.

"I've yet to figure that out." Heero admitted. Duo sat up and looked across the room. He knew exactly where the object of his affection sat, but he could only envision the look upon his face in the darkness. Duo could feel Heero's stress and sympathized with him. Everything was falling apart, and they had almost _no_ control over it. He knew that everyone on the ship was analyzing the situation, but no one was evaluating it as much as Heero. The braided man stood and moved to sit at Heero's feet, cross-legged like a child.

"Well, we're stuck until Wufei or Zechs find something out. And who knows how long that might take."

"Which means we'll be behind schedule when we get to our destination." Heero stressed.

"Chill out, Heero. It'll be okay. It always works out in the end." Duo soothed. Eyes adjusted to the darkness, he smiled slightly and looked up into Heero's Prussian blue eyes. There was a silent battle going on in the former wing pilots mind unknown to Duo.

The taller man had strong, yet uncertain feelings for his friend. Sharing a room alone drove him insane. He knew that he had a deep feeling for the other man, he just didn't know what to do about it. He could have asked Trowa what he did about Quatre. But he was Heero Yuy, the former pilot of the Zero system. He was _not_ going to ask for help. But then he was caught not knowing what to do. And now they were stuck in space together, in their dark room alone. Two and a half years of insanity were beginning to get the best of Heero. "You make it sound so easy, Duo."

"Hmph." Duo stood and sat down next to his friend. "Trust me, it isn't. But, you know, sometimes to live you've gotta. You can't let it get to ya'. Ya' know?"

"I think." Duo chuckled at Heero's uncertainty. To think, Duo Maxwell had made a profound remark that had made _the_ Heero Yuy think. Amazing. Record it! But this wasn't the time for jokes. This was a serious matter. Their lives could end up being at stake. Then again, their lives were usually a stake on a regular basis. Duo chuckled. Death was following him again. _Thank you, Shinigami._

"What's so funny?" Heero inquired, shifting to face his friend more.

"Oh, I was just thinking about something that pertained to the war."

"What was it?"

"Well, it was–" Duo sighed. How could Heero understand? He wouldn't. "You wouldn't get it."

"Try me." Heero challenged.

"It's just ironic how we always get into these situation. You know, the one's that we may never get out of alive."

"Hmm. You have a point. That's pretty deep, Duo."

"Wow, I guess it was." Duo sighed again and absent-mindedly played with the end of his braid. There was something that was just chewing him up inside though and he _had_ to get it out into the open (even if it happened to be in a round about way). "Hey, did you notice something?"

"What?"

"Well, Trowa and Quatre are the only one's who have someone else on this trip. The rest of us are all alone." Duo pointed out hintingly (1).

"Yeah. So, what's your point?"

Duo shrugged. "I don't know." He had been hinting at something though. At the fact that they _both_ had no one else and were alone. Heero obviously didn't get the hint though.

"Hn." Silence yet again. For Duo, silence was bad. But it was worse in the dark, and that was driving him insane. He also couldn't stand the fact that the love of his life was merely inches away from him, and couldn't even pick up on hints about…togetherness.

"Heero. I need to tell you something."

"Okay…"

"I'mgayandIhaveacrushonyou!" _There, I said it. Wait…I said it? Oh shit. Save me now Shinigami!_

Heero blinked, clearly shocked by Duo's confession. The braided man smiled sheepishly and waited for the rejection that he knew was going to come. "So, you like me?"

"Yes," Duo sighed. "And if it totally freaks you out I'll understand. And I'll also understand if you kick me out of the room." He was babbling, trying to cover up how nervous he actually was. He was unable to continue, however, for Heero gently placed a hand over his mouth to quiet him. Their eyes met and Duo held his breath. The real moment of truth – what would Heero say?

Heero moved his hand, but did not break the eye contact. "First of all, Duo, I'm not going to kick you out of the room. Second of all, it doesn't freak me out." Duo's look of nervousness quickly changed to shock and surprise.

"You're…not?" Duo hesitantly inquired.

"No. Because I have a confession of my own." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I like you too." Heero sighed. There, it was finally out.

"You do?" It seemed too unreal for Duo to grasp. Heero glared at the shorter man with a look that said well-I-just-said-I-did-didn't-I. Duo realized then what it all meant. He smiled and blushed.

Heero knew what he had to do now. For him, it wasn't going to be easy. But for love, he had to do what he had to do. "Duo, will you-"

"Yes!" Duo exclaimed, cutting Heero off. He had already known what Heero was going to ask. Heero smiled in relief, but was totally unprepared for what was going to happen next.

_End Chapter Nine_

(1) **Hintingly** is not actually a word. Hinting, Hinted, etc. are words. But this one is not. But guess what…I just made it a word - so ha! Take that!

**AN: Hate me now. I know…I just left it there. I was going to leave it with just Duo's confession and wait for the next chapter to give Heero's. But…different things worked to your advantage. I am greatly sorry for leaving it though. The next chapter will be the best of all. Finally finished this one (after rewriting it completely and then rewriting the second half twice), but the next one will be up very soon. I mean, come on…do you think that I would leave you with nothing? I mean…the first nine chapters have no mature content (other then the swearing). I think that nine chapters of waiting are long enough. :)**


	10. Passion and Love

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Ten: Passion and Love_

There was silence in the dark room. Duo looked to Heero, a smile on his face. Their eyes met, and in that instant there was no one else. Heero leaned forward and Duo closed his eyes as their lips met in a sweet kiss. Emotions swirled around and through the braided man. All thought disappeared as he was lost in Heero's kiss. Fire rushed through his veins, and it only ignited more when Heero parted his lips with his tongue. Duo resisted a moan as Heero skillfully explored his mouth. A hand snaked up the braided mans thigh, and he was unable to hold back a deep groan that sounded from the back of his throat. A smile played on Heero's lips.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god. Thank you Shinigami,_ was all that Duo could think before Heero brushed his fingers over the ex-Death Scythe Pilot's growing hardness and stole away all comprehensive thought. Heero pulled away and placed a soft kiss on Duo's neck before biting gently. The braided man moaned and tilted his head back to give Heero whatever he wanted. In a swift move made by both men, Duo was lying down with Heero straddling his waist. Their eyes met and Heero rocked his hips against Duo's. A soft whimper escaped from his lips and he reached up to bring his new love closer. Their lips crushed together, and he was in oblivion again. Heero was an amazingly good kisser. Duo pushed his hips up, hinting at what he wanted, needed, and craved with all of his soul.

Heero chuckled, but spoke. "Nu-uh. We're going to do this right, Duo." The shorter man inhaled and fought to take control of his body. With Heero sitting on his pelvis, constrained erections tantalizingly close it was not easy. "Relax." Was the soft whisper in his ear. He looked into those cobalt blue eyes and nodded. Slowly, Heero began to undress him. In no time at all the black garments were on the floor. Heero saw perfection then, and found it hard to tear his eyes away from the sleek and toned body of the man lying below him. Panic rose in Duo's heart. _Oh god, something's wrong. I'm not what he wanted._

"H-Heero?" It was hard for him to ask, but he had to. "There's something wrong, isn't there?" There was fear in his voice. Heero's eyes widened as he understood what Duo was inquiring. He reached a hand up, cupping the soft cheek of the frightened man.

"No," Heero reassured. "It's just…" How did he say it? "You're – perfect. Everything I've always dreamed of and so much more." Relief swept over Duo's features as well s his heart. There was a burning passion in Heero's eyes and Duo knew that the words were true. The taller man clos3ed his eyes and lightly grazed his lips over Duo's. "Perfect." Duo closed his eyes and gentle hands danced over his skin. "Duo." He opened his eyes to find Heero stripping off his own clothing. His breath caught as the last garment was tossed the floor. In that moment he truly believed that he was in love with a god. Heero was purely flawless. Their bodies met then as Heero laid his body on Duo's. The skin-to-skin contact caused Duo to loose a little of his sanity. Soft lips were at his ear and whimpered. "Are you ready?" Fire flashed through his body as those huskily spoken words breezed across his ear. He nodded. He was more than ready.

It had started slow, and Heero had been gentle. He had done everything in his power to cause as little pain as possible, which he did an amazingly good job at. The pace had quickened, and it had soon become clear that both men were on the edge. Heero began to hit that magical spot which sent Duo over the edge, screaming Heero's name. The other man followed soon after. It had been hot and passionate. Everything that Duo had dreamed of. And it wasn't just sex. No, they had made love, which made all the difference. Sometime after they lay next to each other, calming themselves and resting their bodies. Duo sighed and smiled, turning to his lover.

"Heero."

"Yes?" He wrapped his arms around the braided man and pulled him close.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Duo." There was silence then, and Duo quickly drifted off into a dream world of peace.

_End Chapter 10 (finally!)_

**AN: Okay…I'm sorry that this was so short, and so…pg 13 I guess you could say. I just didn't want this story to get taken off of FFN…and I wasn't sure how explicit I could get before I was teetering on the boarder line. Ya know? So…I'm sorry. I am very good at writing NC-17 stories…but FFN doesn't take those. Which you all know so. Yeah. Anyway. Finally. All done with this one. And I'm not quite sure what to have happen in the next chapter. Poop.**

**Site Note: Age problem-This story is supposed to take place after the war. One year into the trip, Duo mentions something about being 22. I calculated wrong. At the current moment of chapter 10 they are (according to my wrong calculations) 23.5 years old. They are supposed to be 25.5 years old. Oops! (The war did NOT end when they were 15…so…yeah don't ask how I of all ppl screwed that up. Oh well)**


	11. What Else Could Happen?

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_**  
**Chapter Eleven: What Else Could Happen?_

Wufei watched as Zechs checked everything and anything on the generators and engines to get them up and started. He leaned against the wall and rolled his eyes. It wasn't like the blond was going to find anything. The anomaly in the space around them had shorted everything out. At least they still had flashlights and battery powered lighting. _Yeah, and no one can find the fucking batteries!_ He and Trowa had looked for over an hour through the supplies, but had come up with nothing. The batteries that were already in the flashlights were the only ones that could be found. Go figure. So they had no choice but to deal with what they had.

"Damn it. I can't find _anything_." Zechs exclaimed, popping up from behind one of the main generators. Wufei sighed.

"I already told you. We're stuck until we get through this thing. There is too much interference going on, and it shorted everything out." Wufei pointed out. He shrugged his shoulders as to say 'too bad, so sad.' Zechs sighed, and wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans.

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do then? We can't just stand around and wait to get through whatever the hell this thing is. We don't even know if we _are_ going to get through it." Zechs shot back.

"The likely hood that we would _not_ get out is very small. The statistics before everything shorted out shows that we were, though at a slow pace, moving through this thing. It'll just take time."

"Okay, say we get out. But who's to say that we wont be dead by then? We don't even know what this thing _is_."

"Quatre couldn't find out much, but he was able to find traces of-" There was a large jolt and Wufei was forced off the wall and into a nearby table. An attempt to catch himself failed, causing him to hit his head hard against the edge of the table. Zechs too was tossed about and thrown into one of the generators. He was lucky enough to catch himself before he hit his head, but his hands recovered a thrashing. There was a moment of silence before a moan came from under one of the tables. Zechs stood, as the movement had stopped, and made his way to the other side of the room. He found Wufei sitting on the floor, rubbing his head gingerly. Extending a hand, he helped the onyx-eyed man up to his feet. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. What the heck was that?" Zechs inquired, looking around in the darkness. He had dropped his flashlight and had only found Wufei by the light of his.

"I don't know, but I think we better go and find out." Wufei picked the shinning flashlight up off of the ground and helped Zechs find his before they made their way up to the main deck. They followed their mental maps of the ship and were quickly in the control room where Quatre and Trowa sat, both still recovering from the unknown jolt.

The two men helped the other two up. They looked around, but found no sign of Duo or Heero. This was odd, for Heero was the captain, but a few moments wait was enough for the dark haired man to come rushing into the control room. Duo followed close behind him, quickly pulling a shirt on. His hair was a mess, but at the moment no one noticed this. For this, he was glad.

"What the hell is going on!" Heero exclaimed, looking to Quatre, whom had been in the navigation chair the past two hours. The small blond held his hands up in defeat and slightly shook his head in an unknowing gesture.

"I don't know. We were just watching the movement out the window, and all of a sudden everything stopped. I'm not sure what happened." Quatre admitted. He knew that this was not the answer that Heero would want to hear, but he had nothing else.

Heero took a deep breath, sighing it out. He ran a hand though his messy hair and looked around. "Is everyone okay?" Everyone nodded. _Okay, I have to figure this out._ He thought. "Okay, Quatre how far to do you think that we've gotten since two hours ago?"

"Honestly, it's hard to say. It's not like we know how big this thing is. But at the speed we _seem_ to be going, I would have to say about thirty-two kilometers per hour (1)." There was a shocked and appalled look on everyone else's faces. Yeah, that was about what he expected. Of course, there was no real way to figure it out, so that was just a rough guesstimate.

"Wow. Okay. Um, do you have any idea as to what could have caused that jolt?"

"No. I haven't the slightest clue. It could have literally been _anything_. I think that this cloud is going to have a lot of unexpected surprises."

There was a tense silence in the room. The silence was broken by Duo, as usual. "Well, we can't just stand here and ponder what it _could_ have been. We need to find out." There was seriousness in his voice, something few of them had ever heard. But they all knew that he was being profound despite all of his past actions.

"I totally agree with Duo. Someone needs to go out there and find out what is going on. Being the captain of this vessel, I will be the one to take the step and see what is out there." Heero quickly stated. He exacted the look that came from Duo. One that was filled with shock, horror, and panic. But before Duo could even sputter a word, Zechs stepped up and spoke.

"I will go with you. You'll need someone to watch your back while out there." Heero nodded at this, and silently thanked the blond for taking this step. He didn't want Duo going out there with him, and he knew that given the chance that the violet-eyed man would. It was just too dangerous.

"Alright. It's settled then. Zechs and I will go out there and check to see if there is any damage to the ship. We'll also see if we can find out what happened earlier." Heero commanded.

"HELL NO!" The shout caused everyone to turn to Duo, who was fuming at the ears. Fire burned in his eyes, and he glared at the one that he loved so much. "No way in fucking hell, Heero."

Heero knew what Duo was thinking, and why he didn't want this to be. He stepped up to the shorter man, placing his hands on his shoulders. He looked into those deep violet eyes and spoke. "Don't worry Duo. It's going to be okay." Those eyes filled to the brim with tears, but the braided man would not allow them to fall.

"Please, don't leave me Heero." The silent whisper was only loud enough for the ex-Wing pilot to hear. He closed his eyes, and pulled his lover into a tight embrace. He didn't care what the others were thinking; he needed to reassure Duo that everything was going to be okay.

"I promise you, Duo. I will come back." He murmured into the other mans ear. Duo hiccupped, forcing back tears and the urge to cry out. He nodded his head solemnly against Heero's form, but could not look up to see those Prussian blue eyes. They parted, and Heero turned to Zechs. He nodded, and they headed off to change into their space suits.

Duo stood there, staring at the floor, willing himself not to scream in pain and anger. He felt a hand on his shoulder, Quatre's no doubt, but did not turn to look into soft blue eyes that he knew would try to comfort him. He didn't want comfort. He wanted to take his anger out, take his pain out. But he couldn't, even if he knew how to. "It'll be okay, Duo. They'll be back in here in less than thirty minutes." A soft voice came to him. He ignored it. He didn't care; he wanted Heero to stay and not go out at all. But he couldn't do anything to stop his lover. It needed to be done, and Heero would do it. Duo just wished that he didn't have to.

_End Chapter Eleven _

(1) About 20mph.

**AN: Okay…need to tell you that the next chapter wont be up until after this week. It's exam week for me, and I'm going to be working my ass off to get stuff done. I've just been accepted to a college, and need to keep my grades up. Sorry!**

**Oh…and aren't you happy that this chapter is long? I typed it up this time instead of writing it by hand. You're lucky. Sucky chapter title, I know. Had to think of something.**


	12. More Surprises

Across the Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Twelve: More Surprises_

Duo watched as his lover stepped into the room that separated them fro the void of space. He fought back tears that he so desperately wanted to let go. The door hissed closed, and Duo caught Heero's eyes through the tiny window. There was reassurance there, but those eyes were gone when he blinked. Now all that he could do was wait. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Trowa.

"I'll stay here and watch for them. You go with Quatre. He needs your help." Duo nodded and reluctantly left, making his way to the main control room. He found Quatre sitting in the navigation chair, watching out the window and jotting down notes. He sat down next to the blond and too looked out of the window. It was going to be a _long_ thirty minutes.

(…)

Heero and Zechs slowly made their way about the ship, checking for damage. Staying alert, they made sure that everything was in place. Heero motioned Zechs towards the middle of the ship to point something out after roughly ten minutes of checking. There seemed to be a large gash along one of the panels, which needed to be fixed immediately. Heero signed for Zechs to go and get the supplies. He waited until the tall blond came back with the necessary tools to fix the damage. While the ex-Wing pilot worked on repairing the rip, Zechs watched his back. It was unknown what was in the cloud, and they couldn't afford to loose anyone. The repair took but ten minutes, and once it was done they checked the rest of the vessel. All looked well, so they made their way back. Trowa helped them out of their suits once they were in and waited for a report.

"There was a tear in one of the center panels. We fixed it, but that is the least of our problems. _Something_ had to have caused that, and it wasn't a scratch like a meteorite would make." Heero informed.

"So, you think that something's out there?" Trowa inquired, placing the space suits in their proper places.

Heero ran a hand though his messy hair. "I don't know. We need to talk about this though. All of us." Trowa nodded and headed out to fetch the other three men. They all met up in the dining area to discuss this unknown 'thing'.

"So, what's the deal?" Wufei questioned.

"Well, there was some damage, but we were able to fix it."

"That's good. So what's the problem?"

"Well, there is no way a meteorite could have caused a gash that big. So…" Heero left the statement open. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe the others would be able to.

"So, like what are you implying Heero? That something is out there?" Duo asked with skeptical eyes.

"Hell if I know. I mean, it _could_ be possible. No one has ever traveled this far, and we don't really know what the galaxy holds other than stars. There is no real explanation to all of this," Heero admitted. There was an eerie silence as everyone looked at each other. No one dared to say what they were thinking (though it was all the same thing). Quatre took the step out and spoke though.

"So. There is something out there? That's…" dare he say it? "_alive_?"

"It's possible. I don't know though. All I know is that we need to get out of this thing because I don't _want_ to find out." Everyone nodded in agreement. But at about thirty-two kilometers per hour, they were unsure as to when that would be. They were in a cloud of an unknown substance with the possibility of an unknown creature. Great. Horrible scenarios ran though everyone's minds, accept for Heero's. He was trying to organize and plan everything out.

"Okay, so we'll just make sure that two people are keeping watch on our course and speed. Two of us will rest for a time, and the other two of us will work on a plan just in case the worse scenario occurs. Trowa, Quatre; you've been watching our course for some time now so you two rest first. Zechs and Wufei, you work on the plan. Duo and I will watch our course. We'll work in eight hour shifts."

Everyone nodded in agreement before splitting up to do as they were told. IT was defiantly going to be an interesting night (er, day?…)

_End Chapter Twelve_

**AN: I lied. Oh well. It just came to me today, so I wrote it. Maybe the next chapter will be up this week too? I don't know. Need to work on When Nothing Goes Right…which I have writers block for. Go figure, ne? And yes I should know the time of day at the end of this chapter, but do you? Okay, so there.**


	13. What the hell was that?

Across the Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Thirteen: What the hell was that!_

Heero sighed and slid down into the navigation chair. He was beat, but he needed to stay alert for eight, possibly sixteen, more hours. Just the thought made him want to fall asleep in the chair. He'd already been awake for eighteen hours (because Duo refused to let him sleep). He could do it though. He had done it so many times before. Duo sat down in the chair next to him, but did not say anything. He was upset, and Heero could tell. He turned in his chair to face the braided man. Violet eyes met his, and he attempted a smile. Duo looked away. Oh yeah, he was upset.

"Duo, what's wrong?" Silence. "Please, talk to me?" More silence. "Okay, I'm sorry. But it had to be done. And I came back in one piece." Heero argued his case.

"You didn't even ask me, Heero." Duo still did not turn; he simply stared out the window.

"I'm sorry, Duo. Can you forgive me?" Duo turned swiftly to look into Prussian blue eyes. He sighed and nodded his head.

"Yes, I forgive you. But please, don't do that again." Heero nodded and pulled Duo into a tight hug. They pulled away, and Duo smiled. All was better. Well, accept for one thing. And that was what Duo saw outside of the window. At first, he thought that it was just a figment of his imagination. That was until is passed by the window again. Wide eyed, he scrambled over Heero to the window.

"Duo, what the hell?"

"There-there's something out there," Duo murmured. Heero leaned over and looked out the window. He saw nothing; accept for the yellow haze of the cloud. He raised an eyebrow and looked to his lover with concern.

"Duo, I don't see anything." He pointed out.

"Just keep watching." Duo commanded, his eyes glued to the thick glass like it was his lifeline. Eyebrows raised in skepticism, Heero looked back out the window. Nothing. And then…wait a minute. Did he just see what he thought he saw? No; impossible. But, it _had_ to be. "See!" Heero's eyes widened like saucers.

"Holy hell…" There really was something out there. The creature had a long body and tail. Its head was oddly shaped like a triangle and it seemed to lack ears and a nose, but had a mouth. Its eyes were piercing and almond shaped. It had two arms with hands and enormous razor sharp claws (1). It gracefully flowed in the sea of yellow haze like water. It was an amazing sight, but at the same time a horribly frightening one.

"Oh my god! Can you believe it Heero? A real space creature!" Duo exclaimed in excitement. The danger of the situation had been erased from his A.D.D. mind (2). To him, it was an amazing discovery. But to Heero, it was much more than this. They knew nothing of this creature, and it could be dangerous and attack at any moment. Yes, true that it was amazing. But it could also be hostile. Just like a lion. Beautiful and so highly seen in the wild. Yet at the same time it was a deathly predator that threatened to tear every creature to tiny bits and pieces.

"Duo, we need to report this to the guys. You stay here while I go and fetch them all." Duo merely nodded, mesmerized by the sight before him. He watched the creature flow through the space gracefully. He smiled at the freedom that it had, and it's ability to show no care of anything at all. He was looking at a true genuine space creature that had never been discovered. And he had seen it first with is own two eyes. He was giddy inside, and could hardly sit still waiting for Heero to return with the others. Once they were back, he was forced to move so that everyone could get a good look at the creature. They gathered around then in a circle, but Duo did not stop shooting glances at the window to see the magnificent being.

"So, what do you all make of this?" Heero inquired, wanting to get everyone else's views.

"Well, it seems to be that we have encountered some creature that is capable of living within this environment. Whether or not it can live outside is clearly unknown. We also don't know what it is. We have another mystery on our hands." Wufei pointed out blatantly.

"This could be dangerous you guys. We don't know what this thing is, or what it can do. For all we know, it could be waiting for its moment to strike." Quatre said with concern.

"Dangerous? Come on you guys, does that thing really look dangerous?" Duo exclaimed in disbelief.

They all looked to each other before turning to him and replying in unison, "YES!"

"Please," Duo mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Duo, we can't just assume that this thing has _our_ best interest in mind. We have to be prepared for the worse." Quatre explained. "And it could also exclaim the jolt that we experienced earlier and the tear in the panel."

"Quatre has a point." Zechs asserted. "It does seem to make sense now. And putting the pieces together, this creature could be trying to harm us." Duo crossed his arms and rolled his eyes again. They were all getting too worked up about this. How could such a beautiful and clearly peaceful creature want to harm them? Preposterous! Of course, that _was_ what was going though Duo's mind, before there was a large jerk that caused all of them to go flying out of their seats. There was a long moment of silence, before flashlights were found and they regained their composers.

"Everyone okay?" Heero checked, looking around the room at everyone to see. They all nodded when the light came upon them, accept for Duo. He was still lying on the floor, trying to regain the ability to stand. Slowly he stood, rubbing his head cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm good. But what the hell was that?"

"I'll give you three guesses, Duo." Wufei spat, glaring at the braided man. They all looked at him with that look of 'I-told-you-so.' _Okay, so maybe I was wrong. But jesh, do they have to be so harsh about it._ Duo glared back at the onyx-eyed man and stuck out his tongue childishly.

"Hey! So I was wrong for once." Wufei snorted at this comment, but quickly ended it as Heero shot him a death glare. "Pity though, I was going to name it."

"WHAT!"

_End Chapter Thirteen_

(1) Imagine the Chinese dragon…but with no ears or nose…and no back legs or feet…and really really really big claws. :)

(2) Not trying to offend anyone. My sis has it and so does my dad, and I might have a bit of it myself.

**AN: Yes! Done with this chapter. Cool, ne? I found out what was in the cloud, and I now know what the cloud is…but you don't! You'll find out soon though. Chapter fourteen…is actually a mystery to me. Hmm…sorry peeps. Yes, Duo is being himself with the whole naming it thing. I thought that I would put that in, just to make you laugh.**


	14. A Way Out?

Across the Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Fourteen: A Way Out?_

"WHAT!" Everyone looked at Duo in utter shock and disbelief.

"What? Come on you guys; I was just kidding. Jesus." He rolled his eyes and turned to look outside the window at the creature. It truly was magnificent, even if it might end up killing them.

"Well, what are we going to do about this? I mean, we are completely defenseless." There was a hint of fear in Quatre's voice. He hated to admit it, but someone had to state the truth. They needed to concentrate on staying alive.

"I…I don't know." Heero shook his head in defeat. They truly were stuck between a rock and a hard spot. They could do nothing to find this thing off, and they still needed to get though the damned cloud. At least they were still moving, even if it were at the speed of a snail. Everyone was silent, thinking of a way to save their lives. They didn't really have many options, with no power and all. Heero sighed. He _had_ to think of something.

"Wait a minute!" Trowa exclaimed, causing the others to jump in their seats. All eyes turned to the unibanged man. "Wufei, you said that the generators shut down due to the electrical interference from the cloud, right?" The Chinese man nodded slowly, looking at his friend oddly. "Okay, so why can't we harness the electrical charges and use that to fuel the engine? Just long enough for us to get out of this cloud?" There was a moment of thought among the men.

"Trowa just might be onto something here. It might work." Zechs put is two cents in.

"It wont be easy you know," Wufei countered. "I don't even know if we have the materials or ability to do something like that." He crossed his arms and relaxed in his chair.

"Well, it's worth a try Wufei. We can't just sit here and wait until that thing comes and kills us." Quatre pointed out. They all nodded, accept for Wufei. He highly doubted that it would work. The idea in itself was too far fetched. It was a joke. He chuckled at the thought, and Duo turned to him.

"What's so funny, Wu?" Wufei glared at the nickname. One of these days he was going to get Maxwell.

"It isn't going to work. I already know, and I could even bet on it."

"Okay. Then I bet you that if it doesn't work like you think, then I'll keep my hair down for a full day. But if it _does_ work, then you have to keep _your_ hair down for a day." Duo smiled, even as all of the other men looked at him in shock.

"Alright. You've got a deal." Wufei sneered, shaking Duo's hand on it. Both men were very passionate about their hair, and neither liked to have it down in front of the other guys. Both also believed that the other was going to loose the bet horribly. Everyone else was in shock about the fact that they both actually agreed on it. Little did any of them know that Duo was gong to do _everything_ in his power to make it work. Not only did he want to see Wufei loose, but he also had a devious plan running though his mind that involved the Chinese man's hair. He smiled to himself. Oh yes, he was going to make Trowa's idea work, even if it killed him.

_End Chapter Fourteen_

**AN: Sorry about how short it is. I'm trying. It sure does look a lot longer on paper than when it's typed up. Hmm…whatever. Next chapter…soon? I don't know.**


	15. Memories and Reasons

Across the Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Fifteen: Memories and Reasons_

Everyone had decided to work with what they had and try to use the electric interference to their advantages. Wufei still believed that it wasn't going to work, so he agreed to sit in the navigation chair and keep an eye on the creature. Quatre too volunteered, but ended up falling asleep. This didn't bother the Chinese man; it gave him a chance to think without Quatre asking how he was feeling about everything.

Meanwhile, Trowa and Duo were gathering anything that they thought might help them from the supply room. Duo held onto the objects as Trowa dug though everything. Duo still had a wicked smile on his face of the many ideas of what he was going to do to Wufei. He was going to get him back, for everything. Just the thought of what Wufei had done caused him to want to hit something. It had been a year after the war, and they had been getting along fine. Despite the fact that Wufei still made comments of Duo not being honorable, and the comments that Duo made about Wufei having something stuck really far up his arse. But the slight toleration between the two men had been broken one fine day when it was least expected.

**(…Flashback…)**

The five ex-pilots had been at one of Quatre's many estates, taking a small vacation from the lives that they had established for themselves. Or like Duo, the lives that had yet to be established. It was a nice summers day with a light breeze coming from the south. Perfect. Of course, colony weather control aloud for such a thing. Quatre had been in the garden with Trowa, tending to his roses and chatting with his soon to be betrothed.

Heero had made himself busy in the garage, working on his car and spicing it up a bit. It was his one true passion since the war had ended. It was a chance for him to get away from the world. He had offered Duo to help him, but the braided teen had declined on the grounds that he had other things to do.

Duo had been in the library, reading a book that he had found. It was quite interesting actually. Yes, very rear to see Duo reading. But he was, and enjoying himself greatly. That was, until Wufei walked in to do the very same thing that he was doing. The onyx-eyed man stopped at the sight of Duo reading, and raised an eyebrow.

"You read?" He asked with a shocked look on his face. Duo looked up at him, shooting a glare.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Wufei sat down on the couch across from the chair that Duo was sitting in.

"Well, I just figured you coming from L2 that you didn't know how to read." Wufei shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, maybe if you'd take some time to get to know me Wufei you would know that there is a lot of stuff I can do. Despite the fact that I was born on L2 and all." Duo hissed back. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with any of Wufei's crap, but he felt that the conversation was not over yet.

"Oh? Like what?" Nope, not over yet. Duo sighed and placed the book down on the side table.

"I don't know. What is there that you assume that I can't do?" There was a moment of thought and thick tension. Wufei thought for a moment.

"I never said that I thought you couldn't do things, Duo." The Chinese teen admitted.

"Then why the comment about reading? Do you think that only rich prissy scholars can read? Or is it that I shouldn't be able to read, because I'm just a street rat from L2?"

"Rich prissy scholar? Is that what you think I was, a prissy scholar before I joined the war?"

Duo glared at the other teen. "Well, you sure act like it. With your justice and honorability shit." He spat.

"I'll have you know that my culture and heritage believe in those things, and I hold it very closely for that reason." Duo and Wufei were both on the verge of jumping from their seats. They were both at each other's throat, metaphorically speaking. "Not that _you_ would know. Probably whored yourself too much to understand that." Duo's eyes widened. Anger welled up inside of him, and he jumped up from the chair.

"You bastard! How dare you!" Wufei stood, daring the braided teen to try and take him down. But Duo thought better of it, turned around, and stormed out of the library. From that day on, nothing had been the same between the two. Duo didn't want to have anything to do with Wufei, and the Chinese man was content with that.

**(…End Flashback…)**

Duo took a deep breath, willing the memory out of his mind. He needed to concentrate, and remembering the reasons why he hated his ex-friend was not helping him. Trowa finished gathering the random objects, and helped Duo take them to the lower level where Zechs and Heero were working. Upon entering, the braided man nearly dropped everything in his hands.

Heero was working underneath one of the generators, which was no surprise to him. The fact that Zechs had his hand placed suggestively on Heero's raised knee as he handed him tools was shocking and enraging. Duo had always known that the Lightening Count had always liked Heero (despite the fact that they were rivals at one point), but that was going too far. He took a deep breath, and cleared his throat. Zechs looked up, but did not move his hand from Heero's leg.

"Well, we brought a bunch of random stuff. So, let's hope that this works. It better work, because I defiantly don't want to loose that bet with Wufei. I mean, he will never let me live it down if I do." He was rambling to cover his sudden anger and shock. He knew it, but he wasn't sure if anyone else did. Well, Heero might have but he was underneath one of the generators. The ex-Deathscythe pilot placed the parts down on one of the nearby tables, and continued to ramble on. "And to be completely honest, I don't think I'll be able to deal with for two and half more years. I mean, you know what I mean? Because-"

"Duo!" The braided man spun around to find Heero out from under the generator, standing just a few feet from him. There was a question in those Prussian blue eyes, asking. But violet eyes would not answer back, only gave back an empty emotion. Duo smiled weakly, fighting back tears. Yes, now he remembered why he disliked Zechs so much. Because he made subtle moves that always caused Duo to want to scream. It wasn't his imagination either. He had seen the hand on Heero's knee and the way that it stayed there even when he entered the room. Was something going on that he didn't know about? He didn't want to think about it. He shook the thought out of his head. _Come on Duo, snap out of it. Heero would never do something like that, would he?_ "Duo?"

He looked up and Heero was merely a foot away from him. Placing hands on his shoulders and squeezing. "You okay?"

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be, silly? Just a little stressed about this whole thing. But you know me, I can handle it. Don't worry." Duo smiled brightly before ushering Heero back over to the generator. He went back to the table and began to work with Trowa to create something that would help them. He willed the thoughts that were plaguing him out of his mind and to concentrate on the task before him. Easier said then done. It took all of his will power to not check to see if Zechs had placed a hand on Heero's knee again. He glared at the object before him. He was getting too stressed; he needed to calm down. Everything was going to be okay. Wasn't it?

_End Chapter Fifteen_

**Thank you to all of my reviewers (though there are not as many for this story) WandererWolf (thanks for helping me with ideas), Feares Solen, Danyu, and Camillian (this chapter is for you :))**

**AN: Mwahahahah:) That is all that I have to say. Oh…and did I ever write a disclaimer saying that I don't own the GW pilots? Well…I don't. So…there…for all previous chapters and all chapters to come**


	16. Food!

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Sixteen: Food!_

Duo leaned against the wall, watching as Heero, Zechs, and Trowa worked on the project before them. He would have done something to help, but Zechs had taken over helping both Trowa and Heero. He wouldn't have minded just handing tools to his lover, but Zechs would grab them before he could and hand them off. There was something about the way that Zechs was acting that caused him to wonder if he was doing it on purpose to push Duo out of the picture. He continued to smile all the while though, not wanting to admit defeat or give Zechs the pleasure of the fact that he had angered him.

"Wrench." Duo didn't even both this time and let Zechs grab the tool and hand it to Heero._ Whatever_. The tall blond went back to helping Trowa place things together to make the project work. It was clear that they were going to make it work. It would just take some time and some of their skills. Not a problem, but for Duo it was a very big problem. He wanted to help, but just like always someone was making it impossible for him to do so. Usually it was Wufei doing so, but now it was Zechs.

Finally, tired of watching and doing nothing, Duo left the room without a word to any of them. He wanted to vent his anger, but he couldn't. He made his way to the main deck, but avoided the control room. He wasn't really in the mood to get into a spat with Wufei. But this also meant that he couldn't go and grab Quatre to talk to. He was on his own. Just as he passed by the dinning area, his stomach growled. Taking the hint, he made his way into the room and made himself a sandwich. Munching on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he contemplated making something for the other guys. They were all probably hungry. None of them had eaten in hours.

_Fine, I'll make 'em something. But I wont be happy about it._ He took his time making the sandwiches the way he knew that everyone liked them. When finished, he placed them on a plate and grabbed five bottles of water. He went to the control room first, peaking in to make sure that he wasn't going to get his head cut off by Wufei. The Chinese man was looking out the window and Quatre was curled up asleep in the chair next to the other man. How sweet. Duo stepped in and cleared his throat. Wufei turned in his chair and Quatre groggily looked up.

"I…brought you guys something to eat and drink." The braided man held up the plate and the waters. Quatre quickly sat up and smiled at his friend.

"Thank you, Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, taking his sandwich off the plate and grabbing a water. Wufei did the same, only nodding in acknowledgement though. Duo smiled lightly.

"Never a problem, Q-man! Now, I'm off to feed the others. Keep an eye out for that nasty dragon thing!" Duo winked before bouncing out of the room. He bounded to the ladder that led to the lower level. Sliding down, he sped into the area with the generators. "I come bearing food!" He exclaimed. Everyone popped up. Zechs and Trowa took the food, softly thanking him, before going back to the table and working. Heero came to him but did not take the food. Leaning down, he caught Duo's lips in a sweet kiss. The braided mans breath hitched at the expected action and he felt like melting right then and there.

Slowly, the ex-Wing pilot pulled away with a small smile. "Arigato, Koi," he whispered before taking the remaining items from Duo's hands.

"You're welcome," Duo breathed, watching as his significant other went back to work beneath the generator. He looked up and found Zechs staring at him with an empty emotion. The ex-Deathscythe pilot smiled cheekily and sprung over to the table with a new confidence. "So how's it coming you guys?"

"Fine," Zechs shot back, not even looking at him.

"It's coming along very well," Trowa informed.

"Cool!" Duo was in a much better mood now. How could he have ever doubted Heero's love? And how could he have thought that Zechs could possibly steal him away?_ HA!_ He just couldn't get the smile off his face. Everything was perfect, or as perfect as it could be. Because in that moment there was a sudden jolt that caused them all to go flying (accept for Heero – he went sliding). Duo was sent into the wall beside Trowa, but hadn't had time to brace himself for the impact like his unibanged friend had. His head hit hard against the metal and he saw stars before his yes. He groaned, rubbing his head as he slid down to the floor. He closed his eyes and pushed back the pain. Even with the pain pointing in his head he could hear as Zechs stood and helped Heero up off the floor. Trowa stood beside him, getting his bearings back. Soon there was a shuffle upstairs before a shout.

"You guys okay down there?" Quatre inquired loudly. It only caused Duo's head to hurt more. There were three 'yes's and a pained groan that came from the braided man. The next thing he knew there was someone kneeling by his side. He opened his eyes and saw the silhouette of Heero's face in the darkness.

"Duo, are you okay?" He felt a hand on his cheek and relished in the warmth. He closed his eyes and moaned from the dull throbbing pain. "Concussion, I think. We need to keep him awake. Zechs, can you take over for me?" There was a curt 'yes'. The smooth voice turned back to the man in pain. "Duo, you need to stay awake for me, okay?" Duo mumbled something, suddenly feeling extremely tired. "Duo! Stay awake!" The braided mans eyes flew open but felt heavy and heard to keep open. He didn't want to stay awake. He wanted to sleep, and fall to a dreamland of peace.

_End Chapter Sixteen_

**AN: YAY! Sorry this took so long. Had writers block. Sucky title I know. Next chapter…is yet a mystery. I have like…two paragraphs written though so fear not! Yay! On to finish chapter nine of my other story! Wee!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers.**

**WandererWolf, Feares Solen, Danyu, and Camillian (look…food! Lol And yes…the friction will show soon…hehe.)**


	17. Unknown Forces

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Seventeen: Unknown Forces_

There was a mumble from Duo and his eyes began to close. Sighing, Heero quickly picked the braided man up and took him to the ladder. He called for Quatre to come to help him and the blond was soon helping him pull Duo to the upper deck. Once up, Heero gathered Duo in his arms and took him to their room.

"Duo! Stay awake!" He shouted as he set the man down on his bed. The mans eyes shot open (again) and he glared at the man standing over him. "Don't give me that look. You need to keep you eyes open. I think you've got a concussion." Duo groaned.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Ugg, my head hurts. What happened?" Duo grumbled.

"I'm not sure yet. But I'm not chancing leaving you alone to go and find out. I have a pretty good idea, but I might be wrong. It might have been that thing outside. It's the only thing that I can think of. Hopefully that was what it was, because I don't think we can handle another problem," Heero admitted. "Hopefully Quatre will come back and give me a report. If not, then we find out how to keep you awake for hours." Heero smiled evilly, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Duo looked at him suspiciously, but shrugged it off. He didn't think that he really had a concussion; he felt was fine. But he knew that Heero would not leave him alone and would keep him awake until he was sure that the shorter man was okay.

"Just go and ask Quatre what it was. I'll be fine, Heero. It's not like I'm going to die while you're gone." Heero looked at him hesitantly, and he could see the silent battle going on inside of his mind. To stay or not to stay: that was the question. Finally, the battle was one after some time and Heero nodded his head and stood.

"You have to stay awake though. I better not come back and find you asleep. Got it?" Heero said sternly, giving Duo the 'look'. Duo nodded and gave his lover a large smile. He could stay awake. He was sure of it. He just had to get out of bed, or else he would fall asleep. Once Heero had left the dark room, Duo stood shakily and made his way to the door way. He knew very well what would keep him awake, and that was food. He slowly made his way to the dinning area to grab a small bite to eat. He knew that if Heero went back to the room and didn't find him he would be furious. But, the braided mans stomach growled loudly and told him to continue on. So he did. He was happy to find a red delicious apple among a group of oranges on the table. He grabbed it, and bit into it. _Mmm...apple. _He decided that it would be better not to go back to the room, just in case he had the sudden urge to fall down onto one of the beds. So, he ventured to the control room.

He was hesitant about entering, not knowing if Heero would be in there. But he knew that in the end it wouldn't matter. So, he entered. He was right. He found Heero talking to Wufei as they both looked out the window and Quatre sitting in the chair, staring at the ceiling as if it were more interesting than what was just outside of the ship. Duo knew better. He also knew that the blond was just trying to stay out of Heero and Wufei's way so that they could get done what needed to be done. He felt for his friend, knowing exactly what it was like. Taking a deep breath, and stepped further in, fully intending to scare the shit out of his friend. But just as he was about to jump on the shorter mans back, the blond spoke.

"You know, Duo, you're really slacking in the stealth department." Duo could hear the amusement in Quatre's voice, and slumped back. The Sandrock pilot turned around and smiled at his friend. "Don't worry. You aren't as bad as Heero is." Quatre snickered as Heero shot a glare at him. He saw Duo then and frowned.

"What are you doing?" There was concern in his voice, but also a hint of annoyance. Duo's smile disappeared at this, and he frowned. Was Heero bothered by his presence?

"You told me not to fall asleep, and I figured I would get something to eat so that I could stay awake. Is that a problem?" _What the hell, Duo? Do you need to ask permission or something now? Get yourself together._

"No. I just didn't expect you to leave the ream. It's fine. I just don't want you over exerting yourself is all." Heero explained. Duo wasn't quite sure that he completely believed this, but hid his uncertainty with a large smile. He made to bound over to his lover, but thought twice about it. He didn't need Heero worrying any more than he was. So he made his way to the window and leaned against the wall next to Wufei.

"So, what happened?" He inquired, stuffing his hands into his pockets. His head hurt, and he desperately wanted to lay down and sleep. He fought this feeling though, knowing that if he really did have a concussion that he may never wake up if he did fall asleep.

"Well, from what Wufei has told me, we have a very big problem." Heero informed, turning to look back out the window. Duo itched to see what was out there, but knew not to push his luck with Wufei at the moment. They were both on rocky ground with each other, and he wasn't sure what might set the Chinese man off. He waited for Heero to continue though, wishing that he could give him that look that said 'and...'. There was a moment of silence, and Duo wandered who was going to speak. He looked to Quatre to see if he had been paying attention, but by the looks of it he hadn't been. The blonds eyes were set on the ceiling, and it was clear that the was counting the dots there. _Wow, he's worse then me. And I thought I didn't have an attention span. _Duo assumed that Heero finally realized that Wufei wasn't going to say anything, because he continued. "It seems that there is more than one thing out there. There are two, and right now I'm hoping that that is all that there is. This really complicates things."

"Aww! Maybe they're mates!" Duo exclaimed before thinking. He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. All three other men in the room looked to him in astonishment, and he fought back the urge to slip away. He had done it again.

"Duo."

"Yes, Wufei?"

"Shut up."

The two men look at each other, and in that moment Duo wanted to rip all of Wufei's hair out. Who was he to tell him to shut up? He was just pointing out a possibility after all. The braided man thought twice of this action though. It would take all of the fun out of Wufei's defeat after the device to get them out of there was finished. He did glare harshly at the man, making it known that he wanted to rip him to shreds. The onyx-eyed man glared just as harshly back, wanting only to do the exact same thing to Duo. The silent battle was cut short, however, when a shout came from the lower deck of the ship. It quickly caught Duo's attention, as well as everyone else's. He was first to run to the ladder and slide down though, ignoring Heero's angry shouts. He dashed into the generator room, stopping suddenly at the sight before him. He wasn't surprised when the other three ran into him, unable to stop quick enough. He was barely able to keep his balance at the impact. The shocked looked on their faces did not surprise him either, for he was equally shocked.

Before them all, floating above the table, was what looked like a glowing black orb. It looked vaguely like a miniature black hole, and Duo was praying to Shinigami that it wasn't. He had to laugh inside though. They had left the two men alone for no more than an hour, and already they had created something that had the possibility of causing more harm than the creatures outside. They all just stared at it for the longest time, not really knowing what to do about it. Duo hadn't even realized that he had been holding his breath, until he had to gasp in air. Thankfully, Wufei broke the silence.

"_What_ is that?" He inquired, looking to Trowa and Zechs, whom happened to be standing on the other side of the room.

"Well...we aren't quite sure," Trowa admitted.

"What happened?"

"Well, I was messing with some stuff, while Zechs worked under the generator. I mixed a few chemicals, fiddled with a few unsafe energy sources, and well...it kind of just happened. Nearly killed me actually." With that said, Quatre rushed over to his husband, searching frantically to see if he was alright. "I'm fine, Quatre. Thank you though."

There was another silence. Duo had the itching urge to go and touch the orb but fought it. It was so pretty, and so majestic. No one knew what it was, and he was dying to find out. Almost as if he were reading his mind, Wufei turned to Duo and spoke. "You should go and see what it is, Maxwell."

"Me?" Duo looked at Wufei and then at the orb. "Umm, how about not and say that I did, eh Wu?"

"No one is going to touch it," Heero commanded from behind his braided lover. He placed his hands on Duo's shoulders and squeezed tightly, reassuring the other man that he was safe.

"Well we can't just let it hang there in space, wondering what the hell it is. For all we know this thing could suck us in," Wufei exclaimed nonchalantly.

"Wait." Quatre had stepped away from Trowa, and was slowly walking towards the orb. The unibanged man tried to grab him, but the blond put his hand up to stop him. "We might have something here you guys." They all looked at him as he slowly got closer. There was fear and anticipation running though the room and everyone held their breaths. Quatre was mere inches from the glowing orb, and it looked almost like he was examining the thing. Duo wanted to jump forward and stop his friend, but he feared that that would actually cause more trouble then letting the blond be. There was a pause. Suddenly, however, Quatre's eyes widened in an unidentifiable emotion. He took a step back quickly, loosing his balance and falling. It all seemed to happen in slow motion as Trowa jumped forward to catch Quatre. The blonds foot kicked up, hitting the edge of the table and pushing it up. The table hit the energy force around the orb, throwing it into the air and in the direct path of Heero and Duo. Heero had seen it, jumping out of the way, but Duo had not. He did see the light out of the corner of his eye, and had turned in time for his reflexes to work however. He caught the orb, and all seemed safe for a moment. The feeling came instantaneously, however, and Duo thought that he might scream. It felt like his insides were being ripped apart, drawn inward towards the glowing orb within his hands. His heart nearly stopped, and his brain roared in a rush of thoughts and emotions. He could not compare it anything that he had ever experienced in his life. It seemed to last forever, even thought it was for a mere few seconds. It only ended when his body was no longer capable of withstanding the pain any longer and his body went limp. The orb fell from his hands and he fell to the ground. Heero rushed to grab him just in time before he hit his head on the ground. The orb floated above the ground a few feet away from the couple, and for a split second all that anyone could do was stare at the unknown object that had just caused them many more problems.

_End Chapter Seventeen_

**AN: YES! I finished it. Aren't you happy? I sure am. And I'm pretty happy with the quality of it as well. Sometimes I wonder what half of the stuff I put in here has to do with anything, but I guess it helps develop the story all in all. :) Look! I just learned something about my writing! Epiphany!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers.**

**WandererWolf, Feares Solen, Danyu, Camillian, and AikoNamika**


	18. No news is not always good news

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Eighteen: No news is...not always good news._

There was an eerie silence as they all stared at the black glowing orb. But all attention was pulled away from it and to the man that was now lying in Heero's arms. No one was quite sure what to make of what they saw. His eyes were open, and he was clearly conscious, but the look in those violet almond shaped eyes caused shivers to run through the ship. The only way that it could be described was that it looked as if there was a hollow death there. Empty. Even though his eyes were open and it was clear he was awake, his body was limp in Heero's hold. The only movement was the slow rise and fall of the mans chest. Heero fought back a sudden emotion that made him want to scream in agony for his beloved. He shot a look at Quatre, whom saw the emotion in his eyes, and fought for the right words to say.

"What the hell just happened!" He exclaimed, not quite sure what to do about it all.

"I...It's hard to explain, Heero. But, I can say that I now know what that is." Quatre admitted, looking to the glowing orb that floated harmlessly on the ground.

"What!" All eyes were on the blond now, waiting for the answer to the question that was all racing through their minds.

"I think...it's what we've been looking for. Trowa's fluke caused a new energy source to be created. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think that this will help us harness the electrical interference so that we can get out of here."

"Then what the hell just happened to Duo!" There was pain in Heero's voice, but no one made mention of it.

"Think of it as a sort of...shock. Just like if he were to get struck by lightning, or something similar." There was horror in everyone's countenance, but Quatre continued. "I'm not sure how bad it is though. I've never encountered a force like this before. He's still alive though, and that's a good thing. We need to take him to the medical wing though."

Heero looked down at his love. He was torn between staying to work with the new found energy, or to go and be by his side as Quatre worked on him. He looked up at his blond friend, pleading in his eyes. There was a silent battle going on inside of him. He knew that Trowa, Zechs and Wufei could handle it, but...there were so many variables. Really, it wasn't that hard. But in his mind it was. Someone needed to be in the control room, keeping a look. Quatre would be working on Duo, and he desperately wanted to be by his lovers side. That left two people if he did go, but was two people enough to handle this type of thing? He had to make a decision, and soon.

"Heero, Duo needs you. We can handle it down here." Heero looked up and into emerald green eyes. He was relieved that Trowa understood. He nodded his head, standing with Duo in his arms, before nodded towards Quatre to lead the way to the medical wing.

* * *

The three men looked at each other, not actually sure what to do. If Quatre was right about the orb being some type of power source, then they were going to have to be extra careful with it. But first, they needed to decide who was going to go up to the main deck and keep an eye of the creature that had been causing them so many problems. Their eyes drifted between each other and they waited for the other to take the initiative. It seemed that no one was going to budge. 

"Well, I guess I'll go up and keep an eye on everything. You two can take care of it down here." Trowa acknowledged the fact that the other two men were not going to move. He didn't blame Wufei though, seeing as he had already been up there looking out. Shrugging, he exited the room, leaving the two men alone.

"Well, we better get started," Zechs pointed out matter of factly (1). Wufei raised an eyebrow and almost laughed at that, but didn't.

"Right, and exactly how are we supposed to do that?" Wufei inquired, leaning against the wall. He was making sure to keep his distance from the still floating orb. They had no idea the potential of it, yet they had to find out some way to work with it and make it work to their advantage.

"Good question, and your guess is as good as mine. I suppose we'll just have to handle it with care and integrate it into the generator system." Zechs took a wild stab at the entire thing. None of them had ever encountered something like this, and it would have actually been better to have Quatre doing this. But he was busy with helping Duo stay alive, or whatever. So they had to do what they could. Wufei shrugged but nodded. It was true. They could only do their best to make it work.

* * *

Quatre rushed into the medical unit, quickly clearing the table for Duo to be placed on. Heero followed closely behind, setting his lover down on the table. The braided man looked very alive, and was, physically anywhere. They were not sure what damage had been done, or why Duo was gazing off into space, not responding to anything. Quatre pulled a small tray of examination tools over to the table. He picked up a small flash light and shown it into Duo's already opened eyes. The ex-Deathscythe pilot did not flinch away, which was a bad sign. He quickly looked him over, and looked up to Heero. No expression crossed his features and Heero thought of how good of a doctor Quatre would really be. 

"Well?"

"I...don't know. I mean I know that he isn't responding to anything. That's clear, but I don't know why. I mean, he seems okay. Heart beat is fine, nothing seems irregular. I think he's just in shock right now."

"You _think_ he's in shock?"

"I wish I could say more Heero, but this is totally out of my area. I'm sorry."

"What about..." Just the thought made Heero want to die, but he had to ask. "What about brain damage?"

"Possible. I can't tell right now. With being in this cloud and without any tools, I have no way of knowing. We just have to wait until we can fully examine him."

Heero looked down at the still figure laying on the table. Was he really hopeless? Could he really do nothing to help him? Why did everything had to happen now, when they could do nothing about it? Why! Heero took a deep breath before looking back to Quatre. "What do you suggest?"

"The only thing that we can do is leave him here. He isn't going anywhere, that's for sure. Plus, they'll need help down below with the new energy force. It's your call though, he is your..." Quatre cleared his throat, not quite sure what to call Heero and Duo. He wasn't really sure if they were together or not, so he hesitated giving them a title. Heero understood what Quatre was trying to get at and nodded.

"Well, I guess right now you are right. He isn't going anywhere, and the faster that we get out of this cloud the faster we will be able to help Duo." Quatre nodded and waited for Heero to tell him where to go. "You go down stairs to help them, I'll go check to see if anyone has taken position in the control room."

"Roger." Quatre headed out of the room and down stairs to help the others with the orb.

Heero looked down at Duo and placed his hand over the cold one laying on the table. _Oh Duo, why does this always have to happen to you? Please come back. I need you, now more than ever._ Tears stung at the back of his eyes, but he pushed them back. Now was not the time. He had a job that needed to be done. Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on Duo's lips before leaving the room, heading to the control room. He was relieved to see Trowa watching out the window of the control room, taking notes on a pad of paper. He sat down beside him and looked out the window.

"Anything new?"

"No. There does seem to be two of them, but they are pretty much just keeping to themselves. I just hope they stay that way until they finish down below." Trowa looked to Heero with inquiring eyes. "How's Duo?" Heero gave Trowa a glare that said 'not right now' and the unibanged man looked back out the window. "Quatre went below to help I presume?"

Heero nodded and turned his attention to the creatures outside that had caused them so much trouble. He was angry at them for causing more trouble than they needed. He glared at the two creatures outside but knew that it would do nothing. Could he blame them though? They were only doing what came natural, or so the pilots assumed. A completely strange ship had entered into their space, into their possible home and invaded their 'privacy'. Even though they pilots had not intended to, the creatures were probably threatened by their presence and wanted them gone. _Well, we will be gone. And good riddens to you._

_End Chapter Eighteen_

**(1) Factly is not a word, and I didn't feel like changing the sentence to make it work. I'm an author though, and I can do anything I want! Ha!**

**AN: I am SOOOO Sorry that it took me so long to get this one up. I've been uber busy and this has been on the computer. Forgive me? I made it longer than I would have...I tried. Isn't three pages good enough!**

PS: FFN is being stupid and will not let me do the **( dot dot dot )** thing between sections so I had to use the stupid line. Grrrr


	19. Bustin' Out

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Nineteen: Bustin' Out_

"Alright, we almost have it in place….Okay, a little to the left….a little more…stop! Perfect." Quatre stepped back to look at the work that Zechs and Wufei had done. It wasn't pretty, but it would serve the purpose of getting them out. "Okay you guys, I think that's all that we can do. We'll just have to hope that it works."

Zechs sat down and sighed. It was exhausting working with an energy force that was unknown to any of them. He and Wufei had worked diligently, and after an hour they had gotten every thing worked out and hooked up. Now all that they had to do was start the engines and hope that this thing got them out of the cloud. He was hesitant though. He and Wufei had agreed to stay down stairs, just beyond the engine and generator room. They would be in the next room over, only protected by steel and a small circular window. If anything went wrong, they would be able to see what it was. Hopefully, however, it wasn't something that would cause them to never see the light of day again.

"Okay, I'll go up and tell the guys that we are ready. Make sure that you guys are behind that door and that it is sealed. We can't afford any casualties."

"Yes, Maxwell is enough."

Quatre shot a glair at Wufei before climbing up the ladder and shutting the door behind (er…below) him. Zechs looked to Wufei who nodded and they quickly went to the room and sealed the door. It was not a very big room. In fact, it was more like a janitor's closet. Nonetheless, they were able to fit and were both able to look out the small window to watch what happened to the engines and generators. All that they could do was wait and listen to the movement upstairs to indicate when everything would begin. Zechs had a bad feeling about this, but what really could go wrong?

**(…)**

Quatre strapped himself in behind Heero as Trowa took the copilots chair in place of Zechs. Heero sat down in his chair and began flicking switches and turning knobs. There was a moment of still silence as they waited to see if anything would work. There was a flicker and the lights of the control panel came on. This was a good sign. None of the other lights came on, but if the engines were working then that was all that they needed to get out.

"Hold on tight you guys. We're getting out of this god forsaken cloud." Heero pushed a few more buttons and pulled a lever. Quatre paid no attention to what he was doing, only looked out the window at the two creatures that flew through the yellowish atmosphere. He smiled a bit before looking back to Heero to prepare himself if anything should happen. It was a good thing that he looked too. In that moment, there was a pause before a large jolt. For a second, Quatre wondered if the creatures had attacked again, but to his delight they themselves were moving at an extremely fast rate. Not faster than light, or as fast as light, but fast enough to push them through the cloud. He held on tight as the force pressed him against his seat.

**(…)**

Wufei watched as a spark came from the generator and the glowing orb. He wasn't quite sure to make of it, but before he could ask Zechs what he thought of it, there was a large flash that nearly blinded him. Zechs too was caught off guard and they both went tumbling backward as the ship jolted forward. There was a screeching sound that clearly was coming from the glowing orb, but it soon died down as the pace of the ship became steadier. They were moving! They had done it. _Oh dear…Duo has won our little bet. Oh the injustice of gambling!_

Wufei's thoughts were abruptly stopped, however, by the fact that he was lying on top of Zechs, who had his arms wrapped around the Chinese man. He wasn't sure what to make of it all, but of course it made sense why they were on the ground seeing as they were jolted. It added up, but something inside of Wufei stirred and he couldn't help but give Zechs a questioning look. Zechs looked back up at him, catching his onyx black eyes in an intense gaze.

"Careful, little dragon," Zechs muttered with a twitch of a smile on his face. Before Wufei could exclaim anything however, there was a banging on the door. The Chinese man scrambled to stand and compose himself before he went to the door to open it. He took one look back as Zechs stood and barely caught a glimmer in his eye. Shaking his head, he unlatched the door and pulled it open to reveal an extremely excited Quatre. He was quickly pulled into an embrace.

"Oh my gosh! It worked you guys! It worked! Look! The lights are coming on! Ahhh!" Quatre exclaimed, jumping around and pulling Wufei with him in the process. Zechs chuckled lightly as he watched the two and couldn't help but admire the shocked look on Wufei's face.

"Winner, please. Have some dignity!" Wufei exclaimed, pulling away from the bouncing blond.

"Sorry, Wufei. I'm just so excited about this! We're finally free of the cloud!" Quatre sighed happily before bounding back up the ladder. Wufei straightened his shirt before turning to Zechs with a questioning face.

"Zechs…?" The tall blond smiled, walking to the Chinese man. Gently trailing a finger along the other mans jaw line, he slowly walked past him. Turning, he said only one thing before he went up the ladder.

"Don't think too much on it Wufei. It'll ruin the moment."

Wufei watched as Zechs made his way back upstairs, totally and utterly confused. What the hell was going on? What did Zechs mean by that? And why had he called him 'little dragon'? What the heck had gotten into him? He was so confused. He pushed it aside though for another time before following suit up the stairs.

_End Chapter Nineteen_

**AN: Look at that. I finished it. All for you. And in one day. They are free. And look…development. :) hehe. Okay, well now I have to worry about the fact that I have three math homework assignments due tomorrow that I have no time to do. Poop.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers. Sorry I don't have time to put all your names up this chapter.**


	20. Back to Work

Across The Galaxy

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter 20: Back to work_

Quatre smiled as the small rejoice of their victory died down. He looked a round and noticed a crew member missing. _Heero_. He knew exactly where to look and made his way to the medical unit. It was no surprise to see Heero there, watching Duo's unmoving form. The blond Arab walked over to the table, looking at Heero for a moment before checking the Americans vitals. "He's stable and I believe that his body is simply in shock. Knowing Duo, he should come out of it soon." Heero nodded, knowing that Quatre was right and he wasn't just saying it to comfort him. "I'll keep an eye on him as I do checks on everyone. You're needed on deck right now." There was a moment of silence and a pause. Heero nodded and left, but not without one last look at his lover.

Quatre sighed. _Come on Duo. Pull out of this; I know that you can_. Quatre moved over to his work station and began to do checks on everyone's physical state. The chips that were placed in their bodies were unable to measure mental health, so he would have to do that check on his own. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Zechs left Trowa and Wufei on the deck and went straight down to the engines. He had nearly forgotten about the un-named energy source. He made his way down cautiously, not knowing what could happen. He slowly walked to the area that the energy source had been hooked up. What he found there shocked him. The energy source was gone; no traces of it ever being there existed. _What the hell?_ The blond man stood there for a moment, unsure exactly what to do. He would have to report it to Heero, that was for sure. Other than that, he didn't think that there was anything else that could be done. With the decision made, he quickly made his way upstairs to get Heero. He found him coming out of the medical unit; no surprise. Emotion lacked Heero's countenance. Zechs took a deep breath and approached him.

"Heero." The ex-Zero pilot looked up. "I need to show you something. Please, come with me." They headed downstairs and Zechs showed Heero his find. There was a mix of shock and confusion.

"Where is it?" Heero inquired.

"I don't know. My only thought is that it just sort of disintegrated. I don't know how else to explain it," Zechs answered. Heero examined the area, hoping to find a clue. After a few minutes of finding nothing, he stepped away.

"I guess that explanation will have to do. Make sure to make note of it in your report and keep an eye on this entire area. I'll have Quatre keep an eye on it as well, and on your physical stats. We should scan the area; do that and report back to me when you are finished." Zechs nodded and headed to his station to start the scan.

* * *

Heero sighed, slumping into his chair. He needed to start his report, and after that he would have to pick up Duo's job. He was exhausted, physically and mentally. He wasn't sure how much sleep he had gotten since the start of it all, but he did know that it was far from enough. He just had to finish the two jobs and then he could get some rest, but then would he even be able to sleep, knowing that Duo was in the medical unit? He would just have to try.

It took Heero longer than expected due to the length of everyone else's reports. It was late by the time that he finished and everyone else was already sleeping. He sighed heavily and made his way to his and Duo's room, resisting the urge to go to the med unit. He slumped into his bed but did not lay down. He stared into the darkness, trying to make sense of everything that had happened so far in the last two and a half years. It was non-stop work – not even a weekend to break. There was so much work to be done that they didn't have the time to take a break, but it was draining. He hopped that the time went by fast. He wondered what the next two and a half years would hold. All he could hope was that it all went well and turned out for the best.

_End Chapter 20_

**AN: Chapter 20 finally finished. Short, but it's something. Sorry that it took so long. I've no good excuse for the length of time it took, so I wont make any. I want to go back and fix the chapters before where I skipped large amounts of time. I'll try to work on chapter 21 and that at the same time. If I get a chance to add chapters, I'll wait until I get them all finished and then reconfigure (I'll send out a message to all of you who are watching this story)**


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